Door and latch for tumbler washers



March 30, 1948. c. c. BATINA 2,438,597

DOOR AND LATCH FOR TUMBLER WASHERS Original Filed Oct. 8, 1941 2- Sheets-Sheet l March 30, 1948. c. c. BATINA DOOR AND LATCH FOR TUMBLER WASHERS Original Filed Oct. 8, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 30, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE noon AND men-232mm wasnsas Charles C. Batina, Chicago, Ill. Original application October 8, 1941, Serial No.

Divided and this application August 10, 1942, Serial No. 454,221

This invention relates to laundry machines and more particularly to washing and drying ma-.

tion, but permit convenient opening thereof, and

is a divisional application of my prior application for Washing machines, Serial No. 414,075, filed October 8, 1941,

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel door and latch construction for laundry machines, especially washing and drying machines or tumbler washers which provides a very rigid structure for the doors and the surrounding edges thereof in connection with the drum or cage thereof so as to provide a maximum of strength to resist the stresses and strains imposed thereon by the pounding of the wet articles of clothes thereagainst during the operation of the machine to resist any tendency to weaken or loosen the parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a casing or drum construction which will resist stresses due to violent agitation of the clothes and fluid in washing the same and to arrange the door openings thereof with interfltting doors equipped with means to retain the doors rigidly in closed positions while restraining the same against impact and stresses from within or without and at the same time to permit easy and convenient opening thereof for inserting or removing the clothes or preventing the latter from catching or being damaged.

A still further object of the invention is to provide novel sliding or hinged door constructions for the drum, whereby loosening and breaking down of the parts adjacent the door openings is prevented and the same rendered capable of withstanding the stresses and pounding from the agitated washing fluid and laundry therein.

Further objects and advantages will appear and be brought out more fully in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.- 1 is a section taken on theplane of the line Il OfFii 2.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the lower part of the rotating drum of Fig. 1 showing one of the hinged doors, and partly broken away at a latch.

Fig, 3 is an enlarged horizontal section taken 2 Claims. (01. 68-142) on the line 3-3 oi'Flg. 2, and showing the hinged on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a sliding door instead of a hinged door for the rotating drum.

Fig. 6 is a front elevationsimilar to Fig. 2 of the drum, as shown in Fig. 5. and with a latch partly broken away.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the latch taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6, and

Fig. 9 is a cross-section taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. '1.

Referring to the drawings, the improved laundry machine is illustrated particularly as a washing machine of the rotary or oscillatory type known as a tumbler" and comprises a stationary cylindrical shell III which is imperforate and therefore forms a tank or housing for containing the washing fluid usually composed of hot water and soap solution in which steam is usually 88 injected to assist in the cleansing action. This cylindrical shell is made up of a lower semicylindrical section or half and a similar upper section composed of or forming a lateral wall made up of semi-cylindrical or arcuate plates bent on a common concentric are or circle of the same radius throughout the circumference.

The rotating drum H is also cylindrical, but whereas the shell is imperforatathe drum is perforated or reticulated and is made up of a plurality of semi-cylindrical or segmental arcuate sheets. or sections l2 forming a lateral wall of slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of the shell l0 and alternating with a plurality of longitudinally extending reenforcing and agitating ribs to be later described. There are preferably five of the ribs and live panels, but four of the sheets or sections l2 extending longitudinally and perforated as shown at ii in Figs. 1 and 5. These sheets are stamped to provide the perforations and depressed portions or concavities It at the inside so that the walls of the perforations are removed from the inner surface'of the sheet, thereby providing a smooth surface eliminating all possible corners or projections at the inside which would be likely to catch in the articles being washed. Immediately around the perforations, annular shoulders I 5 are formed and at the outside, the depressed portions of the sheet around the cavities are rounded in convex form, as indicated at l6. That is, the metal around the perforations projects outwardly, and this facilitates the free and unimpeded outward flow of the that they may be arranged in parallel rows, or 1 otherwise. It will be noted from Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings that the four panels or sheets l2 are of equal vwidth and extend lengthwise of the drum, but the other panel space is wider and has a narrow upper strip |1 also running longitudinally and a similar lower strip I8 providing door openings l3 at spaced points along the length of the drum. Outwardly turned flanges 20 are provided along the longitudinal edges of the ribs 2| which are substantially V-shaped in cross-section, being relatively arched and projecting radially inwardly. These ribs have inwardly converging flat sides 22 which are perforated as previously described, and an intermediate inner wall 23 which is imperforate. Where the ribs are applied to a drier, as distinguished from a washing machine, the ribs are imperforate at the sides as well as at the inner wall. The flanges 20 are riveted to the strips or sheets l2 in connection with outer end flanges 24 at the corners of angle brackets 25 which are the same shape as the ribs and serve to attach the ribs to the lateral wall as well as to the end walls of the drum and partitions thereof, to be later described. Thus, the flanges of the brackets or hangers are riveted to the walls 22 and 23 of the ribs and also to the end disks or heads 26 of the drum with the ribs extending the entire length of the drum and freely open at the outside between the spaced edges of the sheets or sections I2 and the strips I1 and I8 located in the widest panel of the drum. Flanges 21 are provided on the end disks 26 between the ribs 2| to reenforce and brace the same and flanges 28 are provided on the end caps or heads 29, which are preferably castings. These end caps or heads are provided with spiders or fingers 30, preferably flve in number, and in line with the ribs 2|. The panel at the door opening l9. as previously stated, is wider than the other panels between the ribs but may be any width, and in order to counterbalance the weight of the door at this longer panel, eounterbalanei'ng weights 30s. are provided between the spiders 30 at the diametrically opposite side so that the drum will rotate in true balance. At the center, the casting forming the spider 30 produces a hub which is circular and forms a depressed circular flanged disk portion 3| adapted to support trunnions or stud shafts 32 which are of step formation and provided with base flanges 33-t0 set in the recesses or depressed portions of the hubs or disks 3| and are boltedor otherwise removably secured thereto as at 34. The flanges are also provided with a pair of tapped holes 35 for attaching eye-bolts or the like so that the flanges may be displaced from the recesses and the shafts pulled outwardly to disconnect or displace the same from the ends of the drum so that the latter will be free to be lifted out of the shell when the upper half section thereof is displaced by removing the bolts securing the same. Each trun-' nion 32 is provided with a roller bearing cage or other similar antifriction bearing.

At the ends of the drum between the door openings l9 and the end disks or heads, flanges 4 i 21 are provided, these flanges being narrow an extending chcumferentially .between the ribs, the same as the sheets or sections |2 of the lateral wall, but need not be perforated. Corresponding strips 31 are secured between the door openings and the strips 38 and 31 are secured in position to the ribs, the same as the sections l2 by means of the brackets 25 and the out-turned flanges of the ribs 2|. That is, the brackets have a flange con forming in shape to the shape of a rib and riveted thereto and also having a second flange disposed at right angles to the first flange and riveted to the adjacent end disks or drum heads, as seen more particularly in Figs. 1 and 3. Circular partitions in the form of disks 38- are provided equidistantly between the door openings/I9 and opposite edges or the strips 31 and form compart- I similar to the flanges 21 and disposed between the ribs, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3. V-shaped cut-. cuts 40 are provided in the partitions 38 at the ribs 2| so that the outer portions of all of the ribs are freely open for the entire length of the drum. To render thestructure more rigid, tie rods 4| connect the drum heads or end members and are disposed intermediately of the open outer .portions of the ribs, the threaded ends beingv suitably anchored as by means, of nuts 42 on the threaded ends thereof at the outside of the drum heads and for safety, the ends of the rods may be upset against the nuts, Stiflening and reinforcing bands 43 may be provided around the drum to resist the great pressure and stresses imposed thereon and are shown ribbed or beaded outwardly in the center for rigidity, particularly at the partitions 38.

In order to give additional strength to the lat-' doors to resist inward movement thereof in the manner of shelf extensions. Door seats 46 are alsoprovided between the ribs at the sides of the door openings IS in conjunction with strips 41 at the outside/5 the curved side edges of the door openings and keepers 48 are mounted in these strips by riveting the flanged ends thereof to the strips. These keepers may be made with one or both edges beveled as indicated at 49 to facilitate engagement of latch bolts therewith and in either case, are reversible. One type of door 50 is hinged to cooperate with the door openings and provide means for the deposit and withdrawal of articles intoand from the drum and are preferably perforated as shown. The doors are hinged by means of a tophinge leaf 5| riveted to the drum wall in conjunction with to receive the ends of a rib 59 at the inside of the door adjacent the bottom or free end thereof and having out-turned flanges at the sides corresponding to the shape of the ribs 2| by means of which the same are riveted to the door to reinforce and strengthen the same. The latch bolt is designated at 68 and operates in the latch pocket 55 at the outside of the casing with a stem 6| passing through the recess 51 and a compression spring 82 encircling the stem between the seats 51 and 80 to normally force the beveled latch end 63 into engagement with the keeper. The latch end is preferably reduced to form shoulders 64 engaging seats 65 at the inside of the casing where the latch end of the bolt projects through and an undercut finger recess 66 is provided in the latch bolt to permit disengagement thereof from the keeper. Openings 81 are also provided in the door and are larger than the finger recesses 68 which set behind the wall of the door, so that the latches may be operated.

The shell l0 may be provided with corresponding hinged doors at the front of the upper section or may be provided with .sliding doors, as will now be described. For this purpose, door openings 68 are provided in the shell over the door openings 9 in the drum and the hinged dOols 50 in the wall ll of the upper section of the shell. The lateral wall of the shell at the bottom of the door openings 68 is bent inwardly and downwardly as at 69 to provide an overhanging flange, bafiie or deflector for the washing fluid to prevent the same from passing outwardly or splashing on the operator, especially in conjunction with the formation of the bottom edged the door to be later described. The top edge of the door opening is bent outwardly and upwardly as shown at 18 in the form of a hook to also produce a lock joint or liquid-tight connection with the door, as will be later described.

In order to mount the door, spacing strips 1| are riveted or otherwise secured tothe lateral wall at the opposite edges of the door opening or to reinforcing strips provided at such points in connection with removable guide strips 12 which project inwardly beyond the spacing strips to form grooves 13 for the door 14 to slide in, in conformity with the periphery of the shell by reason of said parts all being produced on the same are or radius. The top edge 15 of the door plate is bent inwardly and downwardly or forwardly in hook formation to interfit the hook l0 and form a lock joint which will absolutely preventthe door from dropping down further than a-closed position and also the escape of the washing solution from splashing therethrough at such point. The bottom edge of the door is bent inwardly and downwardly or forwardly as at 15 to overlap the bent portion 69 at the bottom edge of the door opening and positively prevent the escape or splashing of the washing solution at the bottom of the door. It is to be understood that water is supplied to the shell Or tank in the usual or any preferred way, this usually being hot water with injections of steam through a separate supply source and soap or soap solution or powder for cleansing is supplied through a soap opening 11 in the door over which the soap box 18 is mounted. This box is of triangular cross-section with a straight sloping top edge and has flanged sides bolted or riveted to door at the lateral wall of the shell. A flanged cover 19 is provided for the box and is hinged at the top of the opening 11, preferably with a pintle of the keeper.

having removable cap nuts on the ends thereof the strips and I 8, may be correspondingly bent.

However, the strip Ila is preferably bent outwardly and upwardly or backwardly as at 88 and the top edge of the door 8| is bent inwardly and downwardly or forwardly as at 82, but preferably oii'set or bent slightly outwardly to pass the offset portions l6 at the perforations in the wall of the drum. The shell doors may be of the same or any preferred construction and strips 83 are provided at the sides and bottom of the door openings l9 and riveted to the strips I'la and l8a at the lateral wall l2, including the bottom edge. Spacers 84 are riveted to the strips 83 and removable strips 85 are provided on the outside to form guide grooves 86 at the sides and overlapping joints at the bottom for the bottom edges of the doors so that when the latter seat in the grooves, extreme rigidity is provided at this point.

The strips 83 are provided with recesses or cutouts 81 to take keepers 88, these keepers being in the form of rectangular sockets, and like the aforesaid keepers 48, being reversible in position. They are provided with top and bottom flanges 89 bolted, riveted or otherwise fastened to the adjacent ends of the strip 83 at the recesses 81. The latches cooperating with each keeper at the opposite sides of the door It includes a flanged latch casing or housing 98 bolted or riveted to the wall of the .door adjacent the sides and bottom edge and having -a pocket 8| opening at the outside with a slot or recess 92 at the inner end thereof forming seats or shoulders at the inside of the pocket on opposite sides of the recess. The inner end is also provided with a V-shaped flange 93 adapted to take the ends of V-shaped ribs 94 corresponding to the ribs 59 and flanged for riveting the same to the door on the inside. The latch bolt body is designated at 95 and has a reduced portion 96 to enter the keeper 88, the reduced engaging portion of the latch bolt being recessed at 91 for this purpose so that the outer face of the bolt will lie flush with the outer face The latch bolt body is also recessed at the outer side or undercut to provide a handle 98 in the form of a hook accessible through a larger opening 98a in the door 8| for releasing the bolt. A pocket 99 is provided on the inside of the latch bolt at the back cooperating with the opposed pocket of the latch housing which has an outwardly projecting lug ||l0 between which and the outer end of the pocket of the latch bolt, a compression spring |0| is mounted to project the bolt. Shoulders 12 are provided to limit the projection of the bolt through a slot I03 in the casing and the strips 83 are provided with notches I04. at opposite sides to hold the door up, that is, in open position at the opening H! by engagement of the latch bolts at opposite sides of the door therewith. The bolt is withdrawn by inserting the fingers behind the hook or handle 98 and compressing the spring so that the door may be moved, and in each instance, the engagement of the bolt with the keeper is automatic and assisted by the weight of the door, but may be entirely manually operated.

As before stated, the drum or tumbler H is adapted to be rotated within the cylindrical shell or tank III in any suitable manner, such as explained in my prior application above referred to.

' or more, so that the entire capacity is trebled (six hundred pounds) over the ordinary machines, although I do not wish to be limited to ,this particular capacity. However, it is pointed out that this is possible by reason of the improved and rigid construction and the fact that the longitudinal ribs project inwardly a suitable distance further than any machine constructed and in fact, produce oppositely facing paddles in inwardly converging relation to. each other from the periphery of the drum substantially in a plane with the axis of rotation for violently stirring and agitating the washing fluid. The resistance ofiered to such movement in a washing machine is decreased by the perforations which, due to their peculiar construction, or formation, are prevented from catching in articles of clothing. The ribs upon the interior of the drum also carry the articles around in such a manner that the greatest benefit from the fluid agitation is received and the result is that the articles are thoroughly cleansed, assisted bythe periodical reversing of the rotation of the drum by means of the oscillating reversing mechanism, all of which contributes to ,the thorough cleansing of the laundered articles in the shortest possible time with the least possible consumption of power.

After the deposit of articles to be laundered into the respective compartments of the drum ll through the aligned door openings of the shell and drum, the desired quantity of water is run or supplied within the shell or tank I and passes into the drum and articles to be washed submerged therein. Soap in powder or liquid form is supplied to the hot water through the soap boxes 18 in the shell and the solution passes through the perforations or holes in the walls of the drum 7 and these may be augmented by injections of steam, if desired, to form the required washing solution or fluid. -"I'he machine is then operated. The improved construction permits the free circulation of the washing fluid and thoroughly permeates the articles being laundered. The particular formation of the ribs with inwardly converging or outwardly diverging flat sides, instead of being arched or curved, causes more violent agitation of the articles and washing solution by deflecting the same laterally at a lesser angle and besides being rigid to give maximum strength to resist stresses, strains and pounding, increases the fiow-of the fluid into and outof the drum through the perforate walls thereof and at the freely open outer portions throughout the length of the ribs as well as the surface area, especially as the ribs extend inwardly a greater distance 1 radially, i. e., approximately one-third of the radius of the drum and are balanced to ounces, to-

gether with the drum, so that the operation is smooth and uniform. This is also facilitated by locating the tie rods 4| at or near the outer open portions of the ribs and substantially centrally between the perforated sides thereof and by having the bight or intermediate inner transverse portions or walls 23 imperforate so that streams of the washing fluid are alternately forced perforations punched or stamped out and formed as described with the inner depressions, the free flow, especially outward flow of the fluid, is faeilitated while preventing the catching and tearing of thecloth articles.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into efl'ect, this is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. 1, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v

1. In a washing machine, a rotary shell comprising transverse discs, longitudinal ribs extending between said discs forming a plurality of panels, outturned flanges on the longitudinal edges of said ribs, and peripheral flanges on said discs interposed between the edges of the flanges on said ribs, one of said panels being provided with comparatively narrow longitudinally disposed plates connected to the outer facesof the adjacent flanges of the ribs and discs, and transversely disposed plates connected to the-disc flanges intermediate said longitudinally disposed plates and together defining a door opening in said shell, perforated plates closing the remaining panels, said longitudinally and transversely disposed plates being in the same cylindrical surface with said perforated plates, longitudinally disposed strips secured to the inner faces of saidlongitudinally disposed plates between the peripheral flanges on said discs, and curved strips secured to the inner faces of said transversely disposed plates and lying between the adjacent edges of said longitudinally disposed strips, the edges of said longitudinally disposed strips and said curved strips projecting inwardly beyond the edges of the plates to which they are secured forming a door seat, a door hinged to one of said longitudinally disposed plates and adapted to rest on said door seat when closed, and latches on said door adapted to engage under the edges of said strips.

2. In a washing machine, a rotary shell comprising transverse discs, longitudinal ribs extending between said discs, forming a plurality of panels, outturned flanges on the longitudinal edges of said ribs, and peripheral flanges on said discs interposed between the edges of the flanges on said ribs, one of the panels being provided with narrow longitudinally disposed plates'connected to the outer faces of the adjacent flanges of the ribs and discs, and transversely disposed plates connected to the disc flanges intermediate said longitudinally disposed plates defining a door gitudinal strips secured to the inner'faces of said longitudinally disposed plates and between the peripheral flanges on said discs, and curved strips secured to the inner faces of said transversely. disposed plates between the adjacent edges of said longitudinal strips, the edges-0f said longitudinal and said curved strips projecting inwardly beyond the edges of the plates to which they are attached forming a door seat, a door through one side and then the other as the drum is oscillated or reversely rotated for deflniteperiods of time. However, by having the holes or hinged to one of said longitudinally disposed plates and adapted to rest on said seat when closed, latches on said door adapted to engage under the edges or said stripe. and reenforcing ribs on said lonsitudinally disposed strips to strengthen the upper and lower plates adjacent the door opening.

cmn'ms A. BA'I'INA.

mwnnnmcns crrnn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Raymond Jan. 25, 1910 Number 

